fioly  Sleek. 


The  Cathedrai,  Library  Association, 
571  Fifth  Avenue, 
New  York, 


Holy  Wn\. 


1.  History. — As  early  as  the  third  century,  we  find 
mention  of  a  more  especial  observance  of  the  last 
week  of  Lent.  (St.  Denis,  Bp.  of  Alexandria.)  St.  John 
Chrysostom,  who  lived  in  the  fourth  century,  calls  it 
"  The  Great  Week,0  not  because  of  a  greater  number 
of  days,  but  because  of  the  great  mysteries  commem 
orated.  It  was  also  called  Hebdomada  Poenosay  The 
Painful  Week,  both  on  account  of  the  sufferings  of 
Christ  which  were  then  recalled,  and  also  because  of 
the  fatigue  consequent  upon  the  celebration  of  these 
holy  mysteries.  The  Germans  still  call  it  Charwoche, 
the  week  of  sorrows.  From  the  fact  that  on  Maunday 
Thursday  public  sinners  were  reconciled  to  the  church 
this  week  was  known  as  "  The  Week  of  Indulgence." 
But  it  is  most  commonly  called  The  Holy  Week  on 
account  of  the  holiness  of  the  mysteries  celebrated. 

2.  Observance. — In  the  early  church  Holy  Week  was 
distinguished  by  the  increased  severity  of  the  fast. 
St.  Epiphanius  tells  us  that  some  Christians  observed 
a  strict  fast  from  Monday  morning  to  the  dawn  of 
Easter.  Many  observed  this  severe  fast  for  two,  three 
and  four  days.  The  general  practice  was  to  fast  from 
all  food  from  Maunday  Thursday  to  Easter  morning. 
During  these  days  the  faithful  passed  night  vigils  in 
the  churches.  St.  John  Chrysostom  tells  us  that  on 
Maunday  Thursday  after  the  commemoration  of  the 
Last  Supper  they  remained  a  long  time  in  prayer. 


2 


HOLY  WEEK. 


The  entire  Friday  night  was  spent  in  prayer  in  honor 
of  the  Burial  of  our  Lord.  Saturday  night  the  faith- 
ful remained  in  church  assisting  at  the  final  prepa- 
ration of  the  Catechumens,  at  their  Baptism,  and  then 
at  the  Holy  Sacrifice. 

The  Holy  Week  was  distinguished  likewise  by  an 
entire  cessation  from  servile  labor  —  an  obligation 
imposed  by  the  civil  as  well  as  the  ecclesiastical  law. 
The  people,  weakened  by  the  long  and  arduous 
Lenten  Fast,  needed  all  their  remaining  strength  for 
the  celebration  of  the  Divine  Offices  and  for  prayer 
in  commemoration  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ. 

By  a  decree  of  Theodosius,  A.  D.  389,  all  law 
business  and  all  pleadings  were  forbidden  during  the 
seven  days  preceding  and  the  seven  days  following 
Easter.  The  only  exception  made  was  for  the  legal 
process  necessary  in  emancipating  slaves.  The  Church 
obliged  Christian  masters  to  give  their  slaves  entire 
rest  from  labor  during  this  fortnight. 

In  remembrance  of  the  goodness  of  God  in  pardon- 
ing the  sins  of  the  world,  Christian  Princes  during 
Holy  Week  released  all  prisoners  except  those  who 
would  be  dangerous  to  the  community.  St.  Leo 
commenting  on  this  practice  exhorts  Christian  people 
to  emulate  this  clemency  of  their  rulers  and  to  forgive 
one  another  their  private  wrongs.  We  learn  from 
the  Capitularies  of  Charlemagne,  that  Bishops  had 
the  right  to  exact  of  Judges  for  the  love  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  release  of  prisoners.  If  their  demand 
were  refused  they  could  deny  admission  to  the  church 
to  the  one  refusing.  As  late  as  the  past  century  the 
Parliament  of  Paris  on  Tuesday  of  Holy  Week,  used 
to  go  to  the  Palace  prisons  and  discharge  all  prisoners 
whose  case  seemed  favorable  or  who  were  net  guilty 


HOLY  WEEK. 


of  some  capital  offence.  From  the  pervading  thought 
of  the  justice  and  mercy  of  God  during  this  holy 
season,  these  days  were  called  the  Reign  of  Christ. 

Finally  people  during  this  Holy  Week  increased 
their  almsgiving  and  other  works  of  mercy. 

4.  Liturgy. — In  the  ceremonies  of  the  Holy  Week 
the  Church  keeps  in  view  three  objects  :  the  Passion 
Df  her  Lord,  the  final  Preparation  of  Catechumens  for 
Baptism,  and  the  Reconciliation  of  Public  sinners. 
Hence  throughout  the  entire  liturgy  of  this  season  we 
find  the  expression  of  the  grief  of  the  Church  at  the 
death  of  her  Spouse.  Every  where  are  most  touching 
allusions  to  the  Passion.  The  Glory  be  to  the  Father 
is  hushed  on  Passion  Sunday  :  the  vestments  are  ex- 
pressive of  her  mourning  save  when  on  Maunday 
Thursday  for  a  little  while  she  allows  white  to  be 
used  to  express  her  joy  that  her  Lord  has  left  her  a 
memorial  of  Himself  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  The 
crucifixes  are  veiled  to  signify  the  humiliation  ex- 
perienced by  our  Savior  when  forced,  to  hide  from 
the  Jews,  to  escape  untimely  death.  (Gospel :  Passion 
Sunday.)  The  images  of  Saints  are  likewise  covered ; 
because  they  should  not  be  seen  when  the  glory  of  the 
Master  is  eclipsed.  The  resources  of  art  are  ex- 
hausted in  presenting  a  dramatic  representation  of  the 
Lord's  Passion  during  this  week  :  for  this  her  im- 
pressive Cathedrals  were  built  with  broad  aisles  and 
immense  sanctuaries;  at  her  altars  are  magnificent 
groupings  of  ministers  clad  in  rich  though  sombre 
vestments,  as  though  devised  with -the  skill  of  a  sculp- 
tor and  the  fine  sense  of  coloring  of  a  master  painter ; 
the  music  throughout  is  solemn,  impressive,  harmo- 
nious; in  the  chanting  of  the  Passion,  dramatic;  plain- 
tive ir>the  Lamentations  during  Tenebrae;  penitential 


4 


HOLY  WEEK. 


and  awe-inspiring  in  the  Miserere ;  sad  and  reproachful 
in  the  Improperia;  while  the  subdued  sorrow  of  the 
Processional  Hymns,  Pange  lingua  and  Vexilla  Regis 
heighten  by  contrast  the  magnificent  burst  of  triumph 
in  the  Exultet  and  the  entire  Mass  of  Easter. 

To  those  who  desire  to  enter  more  fully  into  the 
sentiments  of  the  Church  during  Holy  week,  we 
recommend  a  careful  reading  of  "Ceremonies  of  Holy 
Week/'  by  Cardinal  Wiseman;  "Explanation  of  the 
Ceremonies  of  Holy  Week/'  by  Bishop  England, 
(Works  Vol.  iii,  p.  350,  ed.  1849);  "Passiontide  and 
Holy  Week/'  by  Gueranger. 

(Copyright  by  the  'Cathedral  Library  Association,  1891.) 


Jpalm  Stmirag, 


(Copyright  1 891,  by  the  Cathedral  Library  Association.) 

The  Mortifications  of  Lent  have  brought  our  minds 
into  sympathy  with  the  penitential  spirit  of  the  church, 
and  the  gloom  growing  more  and  more  intense  during 
Passion  Week  has  prepared  our  hearts  so  that  putting 
away  all  worldliness  as  Moses  put  off  the  shoes  from 
his  feet  we  might  stand  in  the  holyplace  of  our  Lord's 
Passion.  To-day  we  enter  at  last  upon  the  closing 
scenes  of  His  life.  Palm  Sunday  is  named  from  the 
palm  or  olive  branches,  or  where  these  are  not  obtain- 
able, the  branches  of  other  trees,  which  are  solemnly 
blessed  and  distributed  and  held  in  the  hand  in  re- 
membrance of  what  the  Jews  did  when  our  Saviour 
made  His  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem.  It  is  also 
called  Hosanna  Sunday  from  the  opening  antiphon. 
Formerly  it  was  called  Pascha  Floridu?n>  because 
Easter  is  as  it  were  in  bud.  The  Spaniards  having 
on  this  day  discovered  the  Peninsula  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  called  it  Florida  in  honor  of  the  Feast. 

The  ceremonies  are  divided  into  three  parts :  the 
blessing  of  the  Palms;  the  Procession ;  the  Mass. 

The  Blessing  of  the  Palms. — In  Cathedral  churches 
the  Bishop  having  vested  at  the  throne  in  purple 
cope  and  mitre  sits  and  reads  the  antiphon  Hosanna 
which  is  sung  by  the  choir.  This  antiphon  and  the 
prayer  said  by  the  Bishop  immediately  afterward,  ex- 


6 


PALM  SUNDAY. 


presses  the  object  and  character  of  the  day's  function, 
viz.,  the  joyful  celebration  of  Christ's  entry  as  King 
and  the  sorrowful  commemoration  of  His  Passion. 
The  Sub-Deacon  then  reads  a  lesson  from  Exodus 
in  which,  with  an  appropriate  and  consequently 
beautiful  analogy  to  the  festival,  God,  after  Israel 
had  rested  beneath  the  palm-trees  of  Elim,  promises 
complete  redemption  from  the  Egyptian  bondage  with 
the  evidence  thereof  in  the  Manna.  The  choir  sings 
a  Responsory  narrating  dramatically  and  antithetically 
first,  the  assembly  of  the  Jewish  Priests  deliberating 
whether  vthey  should  destroy  Jesus;  and,  then,  the 
prayers  and  monitions  of  Jesus  in  the  Agony.  The 
Deacon  finally  chants  a  Gospel  which  Jxplains  the 
ceremonies,  recounting  the  triumphal  entry  of  our 
Lord  into  Jerusalem-  The  Bishop,  then,  standing  at 
the  throne  and  surrounded  by  his  ministers,  sings  a 
prayer  in  which  two  scriptural  allusions  are  made — 
one  to  Noah  who  received  an  olive  branch  alter  th^ 
waters  had  subsided ;  the  other  to  Moses  whose  people 
after  leaving  Egypt  camped  under  the  seventy  palm 
trees.  In  the  solemn  tone  of  the  Preface  he  describes 
how  the  whole  creation,  creatures,  saints  and  angels, 
praise  the  great  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son. 
The  five  prayers  which  follow  explain  the  mystery  of 
the  Palms,  and  draw  down  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
*;hem  and  upon  the  faithful  who  receive  and  keep 
them  with  proper  dispositions  (see  Holy  Week  Book.) 
These  prayers  like  all  the  prayers  in  the  church  offices, 
"  possess  an  elevation  of  sentiment,  a  beauty  of 
allusion,  a  force  of  expression,  and  a  depth  of  feeling, 
which  no  modern  form  of  supplication  ever  exhibits." 
(Wiseman  Lect.  II.  p.  64.)  The  Bishop  sprinkles  the 
palms  with  Holy  Water,  thurifies  them  and  distributes 
them  to  the  clergy,  the  choir  meanwhile  singing  two 
antiphons  that  recall  the  enthusiasm  of  the  little 
children  of  Jerusalem,  who,  with  their  Palms  in  theii 
hands  sang  their  loud  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  J9avid. 
(Gueranger  ;  Liturgical  Year).  Then  the  Bishop  prays 


PALM    SUNDAY.  7 

s 

that  we  may  imitate  the  innocence  and  deserve  to 
partake  of  the  merits  of  those  who  thus  praised  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

2.  The  Procession.  The  Bishop  having  blessed  the 
Incense,  which  is  carried  at  the  head  of  processions  to 
shed  its  perfume  along  the  path — the  Deacon  cries 
aloud  :  Let  us  proceed  in  Peace;  the  choir  answering  : 
In  the  name  of  Christ,  A?nen  !  The  procession  then 
advances,  clergy  and  faithful  carrying  their  palms 
in  the  hand,  for,  with  the  Jews,  to  hold  a  branch  in 
one's  hand,  was  a  sign  of  joy.    (Lev.  xxiii,  40.) 

After  the  thurifer  comes  a  cross  bearer  :  then  the 
purple  robed  acolytes  and  choristers,  then  the  clergy 
followed  by  a  sub-deacon  bearing  the  Archiepisco- 

al  cross,  finally  surrounded  by  his  ministers  the 
Archbishop  carrying  the  Palm  in  the  left  hand  and 

lessing  the  people  continually  with  the  right.  The 
choristers  are  chanting  antiphons  in  honor  of  Jesus, 
the  king  of  Israel,  "which  beginning  with  the  account 
of  our  Savior's  sending  two  disciples  to  Bethania,  to 
procure  the  humble  ass  on  which  he  was  to  ride,  des- 
cribes that  procession  in  a  series  of  strophes,  which 
increase  in  beauty  till  they  rich  a  sentiment  perfectly 
lyrical  and  exclaim  :  u  In  faith  be  we  united  with  the 
angels  and  those  children  crying  out  to  the  triumpher 
over  death"  Hosanna  in  the  highest  !"  (Wiseman.) 
The  procession  leaves  the  Cathedral  and  on  its  re- 
turn finds  the  door  closed — heaven's  gates  barred 
against  fallen  man.  Voices  within,  representing  the 
angels  in  heaven  greeting  the  entry  of  Jesus  into 
the  Eternal  Jerusalem,  sing  the  praises  of  Christ  in 
the  beautiful  hymn  Gloria  Laus.  The  choir  without, 
representing  man  celebrating  the  entry  of  the  Son  o£ 
David  into  the  earthly  Jerusalem,  repeats  the  strain  of 
praise.  After  six  verses  of  this  immortal  hymn  of  the 
Prisoner-Bishop,  Theodulph,  have  been  thus  chanted, 
the  Sub-Deacon  strikes  with  the  cross  the  door,  which 
immediately  opens  and  the  procession  enters  —  as 
Jesus  opened  for  us  by  His  Cross  the  gates  of  the 


8 


PALM  SUNDAY. 


heavenly  Jerusalem.  With  joyful  chant  the  process- 
ion returns  to  the  sanctuary  where  the  palms  are  laid 
aside  and  the  Bishop  resumes  his  cappa  magnay  and 
mass  is  begun.  The  blessing  of  Palms  and  carrying 
them  in  procession  is  of  highest  antiquity,  (see  Wise- 
man ib.  pp.  128  &  129,  Gueranger.) 

3.  The  Mass  contains  nothing  unusual — all  traces 
of  the  joy  of  the  preceding  ceremony  have  disappear- 
ed save  only  that  during  the  singing  of  the  Passion 
the  Palms  the  emblems  of  victory  are  carried  in  the 
hands  as  a  protest  against  the  indignities  offered  to 
Jesus  by  his  enemies.  In  Cathedral  churches  the 
Passion  is  sung  by  three  Priests  clad  as  Deacons,  one 
representing  the  narrator,  a  second,  the  persons  who 
appear  in  the  narrative,  and  the  third  representing 
our  Saviour.  For  a  more  extended  description  of 
this  dramatic  chant,  see  the  paper  on  "  The 
Tenebrae." 


tenebrae. 


Copyright  1 891,  by  the  Cathedral  Library  Association, 

That  portion  of  the  Divine  office  which  is  called 
Matins  and  Lauds  is  chanted  publicly  and  with  great 
solemnity  on  Wednesday,  Thursday  and  Friday  in 
Holy  Week.  This  service  is  called  the  Tenebrae  from 
the  Latin  word  "darkness,"  because  this  office  was 
formerly  celebrated  during  the  night,  and  even  when  the 
hour  was  anticipated  the  name  of  Tenebrae  was  kept 
because  although  it  began  with  daylight,  it  ended 
after  the  sun  had  set.  It  may  be  too  that  this  office 
points  to  the  times  when  the  Christians  lived  in  perse- 
cution and  concealment  and  consequently  selected 
the  night  as  the  fittest  time  for  the  celebration  of  their 
sacred  rites. 

For  many  centuries  this  office  continued  to  be  per- 
formed at  midnight,  but  that  practice  is  kept  up  only 
in  monasteries  and  convents  of  strictest  observance 
Each  of  its  divisions  is  styled  a  nocturn  or  nightly 
prayer.  It  differs  in  very  many  particulars  from  the 
office  of  Matins  as  usually  recited  by  the  clergy 
throughout  the  year.  Everything  is  expressive  of  the 
grief  pressing  upon  Mother  Church.  All  formulas 
of  joy  and  hope  wherewith  on  all  other  days  she 
began  to  praise  God  are  omitted.  The  a Domine 
labia  mea  aperies  (Oh  Lord  thou  shalt  open  my  lips), 
and  th»  Deus  in  adjutorium  meum  intende  (incline 


IO 


TENEBRAE. 


unto  my  aid.  Oh  God),  the  Gloria  Patn  at  the  end 
of  the  psalms,  the  canticles  and  responsories  are  all 
taken  away,  and  nothing  left  but  what  is  essential  to 
the  form  of  the  divine  office;  psalms,  lessons  and 
chants  expressive  of  grief.  Each  canonical  hour  ends 
with  the  psalm  Miserere,  and  with  the  commemora- 
tion of  the  Passion  and  Death  of  Our  Saviour.  No 
blessing  is  asked  on  the  lessons.  The  celebrant  lowers 
his  voicetowards  the  termination  of  the  prayers,  and 
no  "Amen"  is  said  by  the  people. 

The  most  striking  feature  of  this  singular  office  is 
the  large  triangular  candlestick  placed  at  the  Epistle 
side  of  the  Altar.  At  the  apex  of  this  triangle  is  a 
white  candle  with  seven  yellow  candles  on  either  side. 
At  the  end  of  each  psalm  or  canticle  one  of  these 
fifteen  candles  is  extinguished,  but  the  one  at  the 
apex  remains  lighted.  During  the  Benedictus  the 
six  candles  on  the  Altar  are  also  put  out.  Then  the 
sole  remaining  lighted  candle  is  taken  and  hidden 
behind  the  Altar  during  the  recitation  of  the  ^Miser- 
ere" and  the  prayer.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  prayer 
a  slight  noise  being  made,  the  candle  is  brought  from 
behind  the  Altar,  and  remains  burning  even  after 
Tenebrae  is  over. 

The  origin  of  this  practice  is  hidden  in  obscurity. 
No  doubt  during  the  nightly  celebrations  of  the 
Divine  Office,  necessity  as  well  as  choice  compelled 
the  use  of  lights,  but  the  faithful  so  arranged  them  as 
to  make  them  strikingly  significant.  The  number  of 
lights  differed.  One  writer  tells  us  that  in  his  time 
the  Church  was  lighted  up  with  twenty-four  candles 
which  were  gradually  extinguished  to  show  how  the 
Sun  of  Justice  had  set. 

Another  writer  tells  us  that  in  some  Churches  all  the 
candles  were  extinguished  at  once,  in  several  by  a 
hand  made  of  wax  to  represent  that  of  Judas;  in 
others  they  were  all  quenched  by  a  moist  sponge 
passed  over  them  to  show  the  death  of  Christ,  and 
on  the  next  day  fire  was  struck  from  a  flint  by  which 


TENEBRAE. 


II 


they  were  again  kindled  to  show  that  He  had  risen 
again. 

Some  writers  inform  us  that  all  the  lower  lights 
were  emblematic  of  the  Apostles   and   other  dis- 
ciples   of  the  Saviour  who  at  the  period  that  his 
sufferings  grew  to  their  crisis,  became  terrified  at  His 
arrest,    His  humiliations,    His    condemnation  and 
crucifixion,  as  well  as  by  the  supernatural  exhibitions 
upon  Calvary  and  in  Jerusalem  and  that  the  extinction 
shows  the  terror  and  doubts  by  which  they  were  over- 
whelmed, but  that  the  Blessed  Virgin  who  is  repre- 
sented by  the  candle  upon  the  summit  and  which  is 
not  extinguished,  alone  retained  all  her  confidence  un- 
shaken, and  with  a  clear  and  perfect  expectation  of 
His  Resurrection,  yet  plunged  in  grief,  beheld  the 
appalling  spectres  that  came  as  from  another  world 
to  bear  testimony  of  a  deicide.     But  the  most  in- 
structive explanation  appears  that  which  informs  us 
that  the  candles  which  are  arranged  along  the  sides  of 
this  triangle,  represent  the  patriarchs  and  prophets 
who  under  the  Law  of  Nature  and  the  written  Law 
gave  the  world  that  imperfect  revelation  which  they 
received,  but  all  tending  towards  one  point  which 
was  Christ  the  Messias,  who  as  the  Orient  on  High 
was  to  shed  the  beams  of  knowledge  upon  those 
minds  that  had  been  so  long  enveloped  in  darkness, 
as  these  lights  are  extinguished,  one  at  the  end  of 
each  psalm,  so  were  these  chosen  ones,  after  having 
proclaimed  the  praises  of  the  Redeemer,  consigned 
to  death,  many  of  them  by  the  people  whom  they  in- 
structed. (Bishop  England's  Works;  Vol.  Ill,  p.  365.) 

The  noise  made  at  the  conclusion  of  the  service 
reminds  us  of  the  convulsions  of  nature  at  the  Saviour's 
death,  and  the  production  of  the  light  still  burning 
and  shedding  its  light  abroad,  recalls  the  Resur- 
rection of  the  Saviour,  and  His  effulgence  on  the 
world. 

The  principal  features  of  the  Office  are  the  Lamen- 
tations of  the  prophet  Jeremias,  in  which  under  the 


12 


TENEBRAE. 


name  of  the  daughter  of  Sion,  he  bewails  the  deso- 
lation of  that  Jerusalem  over  which  Jesus  Christ 
wept. 

The  first  lamentations,  usually  performed  on  Wed- 
nesday and  Friday  evenings,  were  harmonized  by 
Palestrina,  and  that  of  Thursday  by  Allegri.  Little  or 
no  attempt  is  made  to  render  the  varied  expression 
of  each  passage,  but  they  take  their  tone  from  the 
character  of  the  entire  piece,  and  produce  an  un- 
mingled  feeling  of  devotion.  The  other  musical 
features  of  this  office  are  the  "Miserere "  and  the 
"  Benedictus"  The  grandest  of  these  compositions 
are  performed  at  the  services  on  Good  Friday,  when 
the  ^  Benedict  us  "  from  the  Sixtine  Chapel  collection 
and  the  "Miserere"  by  Allegri  are  generally  per- 
formed. We  append  Cardinal  Wiseman's  magni- 
ficent description  of  Baini  Allegri's  Miserere. 

u  Every  verse  is  varied,  and  betrays  art.  At  the 
words  et  exultabunt  ossa  humitiata,  there  is  air  or  rather 
time,  upon  the  first  part  of  the  verse,  in  a  rising  joy- 
ful movement,  succeeded  by  a  low,  deep  and  sepul- 
chral expression  in  the  rest  of  the  phrase.  The  verse 
Incerta  et  occulta  sapientiae  tuae  manifestasti  mini,  begins 
with  a  soft,  stealthy  expression,  to  convey  the  idea  of 
concealment  and  uncertainty  ;  then  at  the  manifestasti, 
"Thou  hast  declared/'  part  succeeds  to  part,  till  a 
grand  burst  of  full  declaration  is  made.  Every  verse 
proceeds  upon  the  same  principle,  and  the  mind  is  thus 
kept  undecided  between  different  feelings,  watching 
the  art  and  skill  of  the  composer, — now  held  in  sus- 
pense, and  heaving  upwards  on  a  majestic  swell,  then 
falling  suddenly,  by  its  breaking,  as  a  wave,  on  an 
abrupt  and  shortened  cadence;  and  you  arrive  at  the 
conclusion  with  a  variety  of  images  and  feelings, — 
the  mind,  like  a  shivered  mirror,  retaining  only  frag- 
ments of  sentiments  and  emotions.  How  different  is 
the  effect  of  Allegri's,  upon  the  soul  of  one,  who, 
kneeling  in  that  silent  twilight,  and  shutting  up  every 
sense,  save  that  of  hearing,  allows  himself  to  be  borne 


TENEBRAE. 


J3 


unresisting  by  the  uniformly  directed  tide  of  its 
harmonies !  It  is  a  chaunt  but  twice  varied  :  one 
verse  being  in  four  parts,  and  another  in  five,  till  both 
unite  in  the  final  swell  of  nine  voices.  The  written 
notes  are  simple  and  unadorned  ;  but  tradition,  under 
the  guidance  of  long  experience  and  of  chastened  taste 
has  interwoven  many  turns,  dissonances,  and  resolu- 
tions, which  no  written  or  published  score  has  ex- 
pressed. At  first,  the  voices  enter  in  full  but  peculiar 
harmony,  softly  swelling  in  emphasis  on  each  word, 
till  the  middle  of  the  verse,  when  a  gradual  separation 
of  each  part  takes  place,  preparing  for  the  first  close  ; 
you  hear  them,  as  though  weaving  among  themselves 
a  rich  texture  of  harmonious  combination  ;  one  seems 
struggling  against  the  general  resolve,  and  refusing 
more  than  a  momentary  contact  with  one  another,  but 
edging  off  upon  delicious  dissonances,  till  the  whole, 
with  a  waving  successive  modulation,  meet  in  full 
harmony  upon  a  suspended  cadence.  Then  they 
proceed  with  the  second  portion  of  the  verse,  upon  a 
different,  but  even  richer  accord,  till  once  more  they 
divide  with  greater  beauty  than  before.  The  parts 
seem  to  become  more  entangled  than  ever.  Here  you 
trace  one  winding  and  creeping,  by  soft  and  subdued 
steps,  through  the  labyrinth  of  sweet  sounds  ;  then 
another  drops,  with  delicious  trickling  falls,  from  the 
highest  compass  to  the  level  of  the  rest  ;  then  one 
seems  at  length  to  extricate  itself ;  then  another,  in 
imitative  successive  cadences  ;  they  seem  as  silver 
threads  that  gradually  unravel  themselves,  and  then 
wind  round  the  fine  deep-toned  basswhich  has  scarce- 
ly swerved  from  its  steady  dignity  during  all  their 
modulations,  and  filling  up  the  magnificent  diapason, 
burst  into  a  swelling  final  cadence,  which  has  no  name 
upon  earth. 

After  verse  has  thus  succeeded  to  verse,  ever 
deepening  the  impression  once  made,  without  an 
artifice  or  an  embellishment  to  mar  the  singleness  of 
the  influence,  after  the  union  of  the  two  choirs  has 


'4 


TENEBRAE. 


made  the  last  burst,  of  condensed,  but  still  harmonious 
power  ;  and  that  affecting  prayer,  "  Look  down,  o  Lord 
upon  this  thy  family,"  has  been  recited  in  melancholy 
monotony  amidst  the  scarcely  expired  echoes  of  that 
enchanting,  overpowering  heavenly  strain,  the  mind 
remains  in  a  state  of  subdued  tenderness  and  solemnity 
of  feeling,  which  can  ill  brook  the  jarring  sounds  of 
earth,  and  which  make  it  sigh  after  the  reign  of  true 
and  perfect  harmony." 


The  singing  of  the  Passion  is  in  reality  a  dramatic 
representation.  The  narrative  is  given  by  a  strong, 
manly  tenor  voice.  The  words  of  Our  Saviour  are  in 
a  deep,  solemn  bass,  and  whatever  is  spoken  by  any 
other  person  is  given  in  a  high  contralto.  Each  part 
has  its  particular  cadence  of  old,  simple,  but  rich 
chant  suited  to  the  character  represented.  That  of  the 
narrator  is  clear,  distinct  and  slightly  modulated,  and 
that  in  which  ordinary  interlocutors  speak,  sprightly, 
bordering  upon  colloquial  familiarity;  but  that  in 
which  Our  Saviour's  words  are  uttered  is  slow,  grave 
and  most  solemn,  beginning  low  and  ascending  by  full 
tones,  then  gently  varied  in  rich  though  simple  un- 
dulations, till  it  ends  by  a  graceful  and  expressive 
cadence,  modified  with  still  greater  effect  in  interroga- 
tory phrases.  The  magnificence  of  this  dramatic 
recitation  consists  in  the  choruses,  for  whenever  the 
Jewish  crowd  are  made  to  speak  in  the  history  of  the 
Passion,  or  indeed  whenever  any  number  of  individuals 
interfere,  the  choir  bursts  in  with  its  simple  but 
massive  harmony,  and  expresses  the  sentiment  with  a 
truth  and  energy  which  thrifts  through  the  frame  and 


TENEBRAE. 


15 


overpowers  the  feelings.  There  are  twenty-one  choruses 
in  the  Gospel  of  Palm  Sunday,  and  only  fourteen  in 
that  of  Friday.  The  phrases  in  the  first  are  longer  and 
more  capable  of  varied  expression  than  in  the  latter. 
When  the  Jews  cried  out  "Crucify  Him"  or  "  Barabbas" 
The  music  like  the  words  is  concentrated  with  right- 
ful energy,  and  consists  of  just  as  many  notes  as 
syllables.  Yet  in  the  three  notes  of  the  last  word  a 
passage  of  key  is  effected  simple  as  it  is  striking.  The 
effect  is  rendered  far  more  powerful  by  a  most  abrupt 
termination.  The  entire  harmony  is  given  in  a  quick 
but  marked,  so  to  speak  stamping  way,  well  suiting  the 
tumultous  outcries  of  a  fierce  mob.  In  the  three 
choruses  of  St.  Matthew's  Passion  where  the  two  false 
witnesses  speak,  there  is  a  duet  between  soprano  and 
contralto,  and  the  words  are  made  to  follow  one 
another  in  a  stumbling  way,  a  though  one  always  took 
up  his  story  from  the  other,  and  the  music  is  in  a 
syncopated  style  ;  one  part  either  jarring  with  or 
clearly  imitating  the  others  movements,  so  that  it  most 
aptly  represents  the  judgment  that  "  their  testimony 
was  not  agreeing/'  In  the  16th  nothing  could  succeed 
the  soft  and  moving  tone  in  which  the  words  " Hail 
King  of  the  Jews  "  are  uttered.  They  powerfully 
draw  the  soul  to  utter  in  earnest  what  was  intended 
in  blasphemy.     The  17th  and  18th  are  masterpieces. 

The  10th  of  St.  John's  Gospel  is  most  exquisite  in 
modulation  :  <cIf  you  let  him  go  you  are  no  friend  of 
Ceasar's."  The  most  beautiful  and  pathetic  in  all  the 
collection  is  the  last  chorus,  14  Let  us  not  divide  it, 
but  cast  lots."  They  succeed  one  another  in  a  follow- 
ing cadence,  growing  softer  and  softer  and  almost 
dying  away,  till  the  entire  chorus  swells  in  a  mildened 
but  majestic  burst.  As  the  catastrophe  approaches 
the  strong  voice  in  which  the  historical  recitation  is 
delivered  softens  gradually,  being  reduced  almost  to 
a  whisper  as  the  last  words  upon  the  Cross  are  related, 
and  die  away  as  the  last  breath  of  of  our  Saviour's 
life  is  yielded  up.  *    All  fall  upon  their  knees,  and  a 


16 


TENEBRAE. 


deep  silence  of  some  moments  is  observed  and  necess 
arily  felt.  Formerly  the  history  of  the  Passion  was 
chanted  in  Greek  as  well  as  in  Latin.  The  last  five 
verses  are  sung  by  the  Deacon  in  the  usual  Gospel 
tone0  After  having  received  the  blessing  and  incense- 
ed  the  book  but  without  having  lights  or  incense,  for  it 
is  a  joyless  recital.  [Adapted.] 


(Copyright  i8g  i,  by  the  Cathedral  Library  Association.) 

Thursday  of  Holy  Week  is  called  Maundy  Thurs- 
day from  the  "mandatum  "  or  precept,  the  first  word 
of  the  antiphon,  "A  new  commandment  I  give  you," 
which  is  sung  while  the  feet  of  certain  poor  men  are 
washed,  as  directed  in  the  office  of  the  day.  It  is  the 
first  day  of  the  Azymes,  or  Feast  of  the  Unleavened 
Bread,  when  with  the  Jews  of  old,  the  pasch  should 
be  eaten  at  sunset.  It  commemorates  the  institution 
of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  at  the  Last  Supper  or  pasch 
eaten  by  Jesus  with  his  Apostles.  There  are  four  dis- 
tinct parts  in  the  ceremonies  of  to-day.  The  first  is 
the  reconciliation  of  penitence,  which  is  no  longer  in 
use,  although  a  vestige  of  it  remains  in  the  ancient 
custom  scrupulously  observed  at  Rome,  when  on  the 
afternoons  of  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  the  Cardinal- 
Poenitentiary  proceeds  in  state  to  the  Basilica  of  Sanc- 
ta  Maria  Maggiore  and  St.  Peter,  and  seated  on  a 
tribunal  reserved  for  that  purpose,  receives  the  con- 
fession or  other  application  of  such  as  may  wish  to 
advise  with  him  and  obtain  spiritual  relief  in  matters 
reserved  to  his  jurisdiction.  [Cardinal  Wiseman. 
Lecture  3d,  p.  118  ] 

>Three  solemn  masses  were  formerly  celebrated  on 
this  day,  and  before  the  first  the  public  absolution  of 
th©  public  penitents  was  held.    [An  interesting  de- 


i8 


MAUNDY  THURSDAY. 


scription  of  the  ritual  followed  in  the  reconciliation  of 
penitents  will  be  found  in  Gueranger,  p.  352,  Holy 
Week.] 

Second,  The  Mass. 

As  the  Church  commemorates  on  this  day  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Eucharist,  she  allows  some  joy  and  grat- 
itude to  mingle  with  her  heavy  grief.  Naturally  the 
mass  is  the  part  in  which  this  joy  predominates. 
Though  her  pictures  and  images  and  crucifixes  are 
still  veiled,  yet  the  Cross  is  covered  with  white,  the 
Altar  is  decorated,  and  the  candles  are  of  white  wax. 
In  Cathedral  Churches,  the  Bishop  always  pontificates 
on  Holy  Thursday,  and  during  the  mass  blesses  the 
Holy  Oils,  a  function  which  we  will  describe  later. 
The  mass  proceeds  as  usual,  even  the  psalm)  "Judica  99 
being  re-admitted  for  this  day.  The  Gloria  in  Excel- 
sis  is  once  more  sung,  and  while  the  hymn  is  being 
said  at  the  Altar  all  the  bells  in  the  Church  are  rung, 
and  a  magnificent  voluntary  is  performed  on  the 
organs,  after  which  both  bell  and  organ  are  silent  until 
the  same  glorious  hymn  is  re-intoned  on  Holy  Saturday. 
On  this  day  the  kiss  of  peace  is  not  given  after  the 
Agnus  Dei,  because  it  was  by  a  kiss  that  Judas  be- 
trayed his  Lord.  At  the  mass  the  bishop  consecrates 
two  sacred  hosts,  one  to  be  consumed  as  usual,  and 
the  other  to  be  reserved  at  another  Altar  with  the 
greatest  reverence,  until  brought  back  the  n'ext  day, 
Good  Friday,  to  be  consumed  at  the  office  of  that  day. 

The  feature  of  the  mass  is  the  procession  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  when  the  host  that  has  been  conse- 
crated for  the  mass  of  the  pre-sanctified  is  carried  in 
solemn  state.  The  celebrant,  surrounded  by  his  min- 
isters, preceded  by  the  cross-bearer  and  acolytes,  and 
two  thurifers  swinging  their  thuribles,  and  all  the  clergy 
and  choristers  proceed  down  the  broad  aisle  and 
around  the  Cathedral  to  an  Altar  in  one  of  the  chap- 
els, which  has  been  magnificently  decorated  with 
flowers  and  rich  hangings.    During  the  procession  the 


MAUNDY  THURSDAY. 


*9 


choir  sings  the  well-known  hymn  of  the  Blessed  Sac- 
rament, "  Pange  Lingua/'  When  the  chapel  is  reached 
the  bishop  places  the  chalice  containing  the  host  upon 
the  Altar  and  incenses  the  sacred  host.  The  deacon 
then  replaces  it  in  the  tabernacle  prepared,  and  after  a 
short  prayer  in  silence,  the  procession  returns  to  the 
sanctuary,  and  Vespers  are  immediately  begun.  This 
office,  which  on  Sundays  and  Feast  days,  is  recited 
with  so  much  solemnity  is  on  Thursday  and  Friday 
deprived  of  everything  that  betokens  joy.  Instead  of 
the  magnificent  Gregorian  chant,  the  psalms  have  not 
even  inflection.  The  Church,  as  a  disconsolate  spouse, 
mourns  the  loss  of  Jesus.  The  psalms  of  the  Vespers 
are  chosen  to  commemorate  the  Passion  of  Our  Lord. 
After  the  Vespers,  the  bishop  accompanied  by  his 
ministers  goes  to  the  Altar  and  removes  all  cloths  and 
ornaments,  signifying  the  suspension  of  the  Holy  Sac- 
rifice. In  Rome,  the  canons  and  other  functionaries 
of  St.  Peter's,  after  the  office  of  Tenebrae  wash  the 
High  Altar  with  wine  and  water  in  commemoration  of 
that  act  of  humility  by  which  Our  Redeemer  washed 
His  disciples'  feet.  The  21st  Psalm  with  its  antiphon 
"  They  parted  my  garments  among  them,  and  upon 
my  vesture  they  cast  lots,"  gives  the  key  to  the  mean- 
ing of  this  ceremony  of  stripping  the  Altars,  because 
Jesus  is  in  the  hands  of  His  enemies,  the  Jews,  who 
are  about  to  strip  Him  of  His  garments.  All  the 
other  Altars  of  the  Church  are  likewise  denuded,  and 
an  air  of  desolation  is  about  the  Temple  of  God. 
The  tabernacle  is  left  open  to  show  that  its  Divine 
Guest  has  departed.  In  many  Catholic  countries  and 
especially  at  Rome,  the  custom  of  washing  the  feet  of 
twelve  poor  men  is  yet  observed  in  commemoration  of 
the  humility  of  Our  Lord  in  washing  the  feet  of  His 
disciples.  In  the  life  of  St.  Elizabeth  of  Hungary, 
we  have  a  beautiful  record  of  her  manner  of  observ- 
ing this  day.     [See  Montalembert's  Life,  p.  67.] 

It  is  the  custom  among  Catholics  to  visit  the 
churches  in  their  vicinity  where  the  Blessed  Sacra- 


2Q 


MAUNDY  THURSDAY. 


ment  is  reposing.  This  visitation  is  highly  merito- 
rious, but  should  be  practised  with  great  devotion 
and  recollection. 

Blessing  of  the  Holy  Oils. 

The  second  mass  which  used  formerly  to  be  said 
on  Maundy  Thursday  was  that  of  the  blessing  of  the 
holy  oils.  This  ceremony,  of  course,  can  be  wit- 
nessed only  in  cathedral  churches,  because  it  is  only 
a  bishop  that  can  consecrate  the  holy  oils  used  in  the 
administration  of  the  sacraments.  The  reason  of  the 
selection  of  Maundy  Thursday  as  the  day  for  the 
blessing  of  the  holy  oils,  was,  that  these  would  be 
much  needed  for  the  baptism  of  the  catechumens  on 
Easter  eve.  There  are  three  holy  oils.  The  first  is 
called  "The  Oil  of  the  Sick,"  which  is  the  matter  of 
the  sacrament  of  Extreme  Unction.  Formerly  it  used 
to  be  blessed  on  any  day  of  the  year,  or  as  often  as 
required,  but  later  on  the  blessing  of  the  three  oils 
was  united  in  one.  The  noblest  of  the  three  oils  is 
the  Sacred  Chrism,  and  its  consecration  is  more  im- 
portant and  fuller  of  mystery  than  those  of  the  other 
two  ;  for  it  is  by  the  Chrism  that  the  Holy  Ghost  im- 
prints his  indelible  seal  on  the  Christian,  strengthens 
him,  and  gives  a  visible  sign  of  his  membership  with 
Christ,  whose  name  signifies  "  unction. "  The  child 
iust  baptized  receives  the  unction  of  this  oil,  in  order 
to  show  that  he  partakes  of  the  kingly  character  of 
the  great  King.  Balm  is  mixed  with  the  Chrism  to 
represent  The  Good  Odor  of  Christ.  [I  Corinthians, 
ii.  15.] 

In  the  Eastern  Church  thirty-three  different  kinds 
of  precious  perfumes  are  put  into  the  oil,  and  it  thus 
becomes  an  ointment  of  exquisite  fragrance.  [Guer- 
anger.  ] 

The  Sacred  Chrism  is  used  by  the  Church  in  the 
consecration  of  bishops,  the  blessing  of  bells,  dedica- 
tion of  a  church,  the  consecration  of  chalice  and  altars. 
In  the  dedication  of  a  church  the  bishop  pours  out 


MAUNDY  THURSDAY. 


21 


the  Chrism  on  twelve  crosses,  which  are  to  attest  to 
succeeding  ages  the  glory  of  God's  house. 

The  third  of  the  holy  oils  is  the  Oil  of  Catechu- 
mens, which  is  of  apostolic  institution,  and  is  used  in 
the  ceremonies  of  Baptism,  for  the  anointing  of  the 
breast  and  shoulders.  It  is  also  used  for  anointing  a 
priest's  hands  in  ordination,  and  for  the  coronation  of 
a  king  or  queen.  These  oils  being  therefore  so  im- 
portant, are  consecrated  with  the  greatest  solemnity. 
On  no  occasion  does  the  Church  use  so  much  pomp 
and  splendor  as  in  this  blessing.  Twelve  priests  as- 
sist as  witnesses  and  co-operators  of  the  Holy  Chrism 
Seven  deacons  and  seven  sub-deacons  assist  to  carry 
the  oils  and  to  guard  them.  In  the  Cathedral  of  New 
York  a  special  set  of  magnificent  vestments  is  used 
on  this  day.  The  vestments  are  of  the  richest  silk, 
beautifully  and  artistically  embroidered  by  hand,  each 
chasuble  and  dalmatic  and  tunic  bearing  a  different 
device,  skillfully  wrought,  the  designs  being  in  com- 
plete harmony,  from  the  mitre  of  the  archbishop 
through  all  the  pieces  of  the  pontifical  vestments 
down  to  the  maniple  of  the  last  sub-deacon.  This 
magnificent  set  of  vestments  is  the  gift  to  the  Cathe- 
dral of  Archbishop  Corrigan. 

The  mass  proceeds  as  far  as  the  prayer  of  the  canon 
immediately  preceding  the  Pater  noster.  The  Bishop 
then  leaves  the  altar  and  goes  to  the  Epistle  side  of 
the  sanctuary,  where  a  table  has  been  splendidly  fitted 
up  for  the  blessing.  A  procession  of  acolytes,  cross- 
bearer  and  thurifer,  with  the  twelve  priests,  the  seven 
deacons  and  the  seven  sub-deacons,  go  to  the  sacristy 
where  the  ampulla  are  prepared.  The  sub-deacon 
takes  the  one  containing  the  Oil  of  the  Sick.  In 
solemn  procession  the  holy  oil  is  brought  before  the 
Bishop,  the  priests  and  deacons  chanting  meanwhile 
the  beautiful  hymn  of  St.  Fortunatus.  The  Bishop 
then  blesses  the  Oil  of  the  Sick,  prefacing  the  blessing 
by  an  exorcism,  in  order  to  drive  away  the  influence 


MAUNDY  THURSDAY. 


of  the  evil  ones,  who,  out  of  hatred  for  man,  do  infest 
the  creatures  given  to  us  for  our  use. 

After  the  oil  is  blessed,  the  Bishop  returns  to  the 
altar,  and  proceeds  with  the  mass  until  after  the  Com- 
munion, when  he  returns  to  the  place  prepared  for  the 
blessing  of  the  oils.  The  twelve  priests,  seven  deacons 
and  seven  sub-deacons,  again  repair  to  the  sacristy, 
bringing  out  in  solemn  procession  the  Oil  of  Chrism 
and  the  Oil  of  Catechumens,  which  are  carried  by  two 
deacons,  while  a  sub-deacon  carries  the  vessel  con- 
taining the  balm.  The  Bishop  begins  by  blessing  this 
latter,  calling  it  "  the  fragrant  tear  of  dry  bark,  the 
oozing  of  a  favored  branch  that  gives  us  the  priestly 
unction/'  Before  proceeding  with  the  blessing  of  the 
Oil  of  the  Chrism,  he  thrice  breathes  upon  it  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  the  twelve  priests  doing  the  same, 
in  imitation  of  our  Blessed  Saviour  breathing  upon 
His  Apostles,  and  conferring  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  who  is  the  spirit  or  breath.  After  an  exorcism, 
the  Bishop  sings  the  praises  of  the  Chrism  in  a  magni- 
ficent preface,  coming  down  from  the  earliest  ages. 
The  balm  is  then  mixed  with  the  Chrism,  whereupon 
the  Bishop  salutes  the  holy  oil  with  these  words:  "  Hail, 
O  Holy  Chrism,"  thus  honoring  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is 
to  work  by  means  of  this  Sacrament.  Each  of  the  twelve 
priests,  making  three  profound  inclinations,  pays  the 
Holy  Ghost  the  same  honor.  The  Bishop  then  blesses 
the  Oil  of  Catechumens,  after  which  he  again  salutes 
the  oil,  saying  :  "Hail,  O  Holy  Oil/'  being  followed 
in  this  act  of  reverence  by  each  of  the  priests.  The 
procession  again  forms,  and  carries  the  sacred  oils  to 
the  sacristy. 


(Booh  Jriirag. 


Copyright  iSgiy  by  the  Cathedral  Library  Association. 

On  Good  Friday  the  grief  of  the  Church  is  so  deep 
that  she  forbids  the  offering  of  the  salutary  sacrifice, 
consequently  there  is  no  Mass  in  the  services  of  to-day. 
The  Church  presents  an  appearance  of  sorrow  and 
penance.  The  Altar  is  stripped  of  its  ornaments  ;  the 
Sanctuary  is  draped  in  black  ;  the  benches  are  un- 
covered ;  the  candles  are  yellow.  No  salutes  are  given 
in  the  Sanctuary.  The  service  consists  of  four  parts  : 
first  the  Lessons  and  the  Passion  ;  secondly,  the 
Prayers  ;  thirdly,  the  Veneration  of  the  Cross  ;  lastly, 
the  Mass  of  the  Pre-Sanctified. 

/.  The  Lessons  and  the  Passion. — The  procession 
enters  the  Sanctuary,  the  celebrant  and  his  ministers 
being  vested  in  black.  No  lights,  nor  incense  are  carried. 
The  ministers  go  to  the  foot  of  the  Altar  and  prostrate 
themselves,  praying  in  silence  while  the  acolytes  cover 
the  Altar  with  a  single  cloth  instead  of  the  three  which 
are  always  required  when  Mass  is  celebrated.  The  cel- 
ebrant and  ministers  then  rise,  and  the  lessons  are 
begun.  A  chanter  sings  a  lesson  from  Osee  in  which 
the  Lord  invites  the  people  to  repentance  and  mercy, 
promises  to  receive  them  to  mercy  when  they  come 
with  suitable  dispositions,  and  intimates  that  the 
mosaic  rites  and  sacrifices  were  valueless  except  so 
far  as  they  were  connected  with  that  of  Christ.'  The 
tract  that  follows  relates  to  the  Passion  and  foretells 
the  second  coming  of  Christ.  Then  follows  a  prayer 
reminding  the  Father  of  his  justice  towards  Judas  and 
his  >mercy  towards  the  good  thief  and  begging  that 
every  remnant  of  sin  may  be  removed  from  us  that 
we  may  rise  again  with  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The 
sub-deacon  reads  a  lesson  from  the  book  of  Exodus, 
describing  the  institution  of  the  Passover,  a  figure  of 
the  death  of  the  Redeemer.  * 

A  tract  composed  of  several  passages  taken  from 


24 


GOOD  FRIDAY. 


the  139th  psalm,  prophetic  of  the  Passion  and  repre- 
senting Our  Redeemer  praying  to  His  Eternal 
Father,  is  then  sung  by  the  choir. 

Three  priests  clad  as  deacons,  but  without  dalmatics 
enter  the  Sanctuary  to  sing  the  dramatic  recitation  of 
the  Passion,  which  is  the  history  of  the  sufferings  of 
the  Saviour  as  recorded  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John, 
the  only  Evangelist  present  at  the  awful  scenes,  and 
therefore  giving  testimony  as  an  eye  witness.  For  a 
description  of  the  chant  of  this  Passion,  see  the  paper 
on  "  Tenebrae."  At  the  conclusion  the  deacon  sings 
a  few  verses,  but  without  asking  the  blessing  or  hav- 
ing lights  or  incense. 

It  is  usual  for  a  sermon  to  be  preached  on  the 
Passion  on  Good  Friday.  After  the  sermon  follow 
the  prayers. 

II.  The  Prayers. — The  Church  following  the  ex- 
ample set  her  by  the  one  Mediator  of  the  world  in  his 
Passion,  prays  for  all  mankind,  for  all  classes  and 
persons,  as  Christ  dying  on  the  Cross  offered  up  to 
his  Eternal  Father  for  all  mankind  prayers  and  sup- 
plications with  a  strong  cry  and  tears.    [Heb.  V.,  7.] 

Each  of  these  prayers  is  introduced  by  a  few 
words  which  shows  its  object.  The  deacon  bids  the 
faithful  kneel  down,  and  the  sub-deacon  tells  them 
to  rise  and  unite  in  the  prayers  made  by  the  priest 
who  prays  for  all  orders  and  degrees,  for  the  whole 
Church;  for  the  Holy  Father,  its  visible  head;  for  all 
bishops,  priests,  deacons  and  other  clergy,  for  confes- 
sors, virgins,  widows  and  all  other  congregated  por- 
tions of  the  faithful  ;  for  temporal  sovereigns  ;  for 
catechumens  ;  for  the  removal  of  error,  of  disease  and 
famine;  to  entreat  the  liberation  of  captives;  safe 
return  of  travellers  ;  health  for  the  sick ;  the  safe 
arrival  of  all  those  who  are  upon  the  ocean  ;  for  the 
grace  of  conversion;  for  heretics,  schismatics,  for  Jews 
also,  that  on  this  day  of  mercy,  the  blood  which  their 
fathers  desired  might  be  upon  them  and  their  children, 
might  indeed  come  upon  the  descendants  in  streams 


GOOD  FRIDAY. 


25 


of  expiation  and  not  in  rills  of  burning.  Here  the 
deacon  does  not  invite  the  faithful  to  kneel.  The 
Church  has  no  hesitation  in  offering  up  a  prayer  for 
the  descendants  of  Jesus's  executioners,  but  in  doing 
so  she  refrains  from  genuflecting,  because  this  mark 
of  adoration  was  turned  by  the  Jews  into  an  insult 
against  Our  Lord  during  the  Passion.  She  prays  for 
his  scoffers,  but  she  shrinks  from  repeating  the  act 
wherewith  they  scoffed  at  Him.  [Gueranger.] 

Finally  a  prayer  is  offered  for  the  Pagans  who  sit  in 
darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death. 

III.  The  Veneration  of  the  Cross. — After  embracing 
the  whole  universe  in  her  charity,  the  Church  invites 
her  children  to  an  act  of  solemn  reparation,  the 
veneration  of  that  Cross  upon  which  the  Most  Precious 
Blood  was  poured  forth.  This  holy  ceremony  was 
instituted  at  Jerusalem  in  the  fourth  century.  Cardi- 
nal Wiseman  says.  "We  have  in  this  instance  a 
ceremonial  expressive  of  the  triumph  of  Christianity, 
of  the  exaltation  of  its  sacred  emblem  above  every 
other  badge,  a  proclamation  of  the  principle  that 
through  it  alone  salvation  was  wrought,  the  vindica- 
tion of  it  from  ignominy  and  hatred  which  for  three 
centuries  has  been  its  lot  and  the  paying  of  a  public 
debt  of  honor,  tribute,  love  and  veneration  to  Him 
who  hung  upon  it  in  reparation  of  the  blasphemy,  and, 
in  his  disciples,  persecution,  wherewith  he  had  been 
visited."  The  celebrant  takes  off  the  chasuble,  the 
badge  of  his  priesthood,  in  order  that  the  reparation 
which  he  is  the  first  to  offer  to  the  outraged  Christ, 
may  be  made  with  all  possible  humility.  Standing  on 
the  step  near  the  Epistle  side  of  the  Altar  with  his 
face  turned  toward  the  people,  he  receives  the  cross 
from  the  deacon,  and  unveiling  the  upper  part  as  far 
as  the  arms,  he  raises  it  and  sings  the  words — 
"  Ecce  Lignum  Cruris"  Behold  the  wood  of  the  Cross  ! 
Then  joined  by  the  deacon  and  sub-deacon  he  con- 
tinues "on  which  hung  the  salvation  of  the  world  f 
the  people  kneeling  down  and  venerating  the  Cross 


26 


GOOD  FRIDAY. 


while  the  choir  sings  these  words  "  Venite  adoremus" 
come  let  us  adore.  The  first  exposition,  in  a  low  tone  of 
voice,  represents  the  fear  of  the  Apostles  when  first 
preaching  the  Cross  not  daring  to  speak  of  the  great 
mystery,  except  to  the  few  faithful  disciples  of  Jesus. 
For  the  same  reason  the  priest  only  slightly  raises  the 
Cross.  This  homage  is  intended  as  a  reparation 
for  the  insults  and  injuries  offered  to  Christ  in  the 
house  of  Caiphas.  A  second  time  the  celebrant  holds 
up  the  holy  sign  of  our  redemption  higher  than  the 
first  and  sings  in  a  higher  note  "  Ecce  lignum 
cruris"  the  deacon  and  sub-deacon  joining  in  as 
before;  the  people  again  falling  upon  their  knees,  and 
the  choir  again  singing  Venite  Adoremus.  This  second 
elevation  signifies  the  Apostles  extending  their 
preaching  after  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  is 
intended  as  a  reparation  for  the  treatment  received  by 
Our  Saviour  in  the  Court  of  Pilate.  The  priest  finally 
advances  to  the  middle  of  the  Altar,  and  removes  the 
veil  entirely  from  the  Cross,  elevating  it  more  than  at 
the  two  preceding  times,  and  singing  triumphantly 
on  a  still  higher  note  "Ecce  lignum  cruris."  The 
deacon  and  sub-deacon  again  uniting  their  voices 
with  his,  and  the  people  falling  upon  their  knees, 
while  the  choir  sings  Venite  Adoremus.  This  third 
and  unreserved  manifestation  represents  the  mystery 
of  the  Cross  preached  to  the  whole  earth,  and  is 
intended  as  a  reparation  to  Our  Lord  for  the  outrages 
of  Calvary.  The  celebrant  and  the  ministers  having 
removed  their  shoes,  advance  successively  towards  the 
place  where  the  crucifix  has  been  laid,  making  three 
genuflections  at  intervals,  and  finally  kissing  the  Cross. 
The  clergy  follow  in  due  order.  The  chants  used 
during  this  ceremony  are  most  beautiful  as  well  as 
most  ancient.  They  are  called  "  The  reproaches," 
and  at  the  end  of  each  reproach,  the  irisagion  is  sung 
in  Latin  and  in  Greek  "Holy  God,  Holy  Strong  One, 
Holy  Immortal  have  mercy  on  us!"  Towards  the  end  of 
the  veneration  of  the  Cross,  the  candles  are  lighted 
and  the  deacon  spreads  a  corporal  upon  the  Altar  upon 


GOOD  FRIDAY. 


*7 


which  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  to  be  placed.  Then 
follows  the  procession  to  the  chapel  in  which  the 
Host  consecrated  the  day  before  has  been  kept. 
The  deacon  takes  the  chalice  which  contains  the  host 
and  places  it  upon  the  Altar.  The  priest  having 
adored  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  takes  the  chalice  and 
proceeds  in  solemn  procession  to  the  High  Altar. 
During  the  procession  the  triumphant  hymn  of  the 
Cross  "  Vexilla  regis  "  is  sung.  Then  begins  a  broken 
and  disordered  service  called 

IV.  The  Mass  of  the  Pre-Sa?ictified. — The  priest 
receives  the  Sacred  Host  upon  the  paten  while  the  dea- 
con pours  wine  and  water  into  the  chalice.  The  offer- 
ings and  the  Altar  are  incensed  as  usual  but  to  express 
the  grief  of  the  Church  the  celebrant  is  not  incensed. 
He  washes  his  hands,  praying  in  secret,  says  the  Orate 
fratres,  the  answer  suscipiat  being  omitted,  and  then 
immediately  in  ferial  tone  sings  the  Pater  Noster. 
Then  he  says  aloud  the  prayer  "  Libera  nos"  which 
in  every  other  Mass  is  said  secretly.  Before  com- 
municating himself,  the  priest  invites  the  faithful  to 
adore  the  Sacred  Host.  He  raises  it  on  high  as  Jesus 
was  raised  on  the  cross.  Then  he  divides  it  into 
three  parts,  one  of  which  he  puts  into  the  chalice, 
thus  sanctifying  the  wine  and  water  which  he  is  to 
take  after  his  communion,  but  without  consecrating 
these  elements.  They  receive  a  very  special  benedic- 
tion similar  to  that  which  is  attached  to  the  garments 
worn  by  Our  Saviour.  After  his  communion  he 
receives  the  particle  with  the  wine  and  water,  and 
washes  his  fingers  saying  in  secret  the  prayer  "  Quod 
ore  sumpsimus"  thus  terminating  the  Mass  of  the 
Pre-Sanctified. 

The  Vespers  are  said  with  the  same  mournful  plain- 
ness as  on  Thursday,  and  during  the  day  the  faithful 
assemble  to  venerate  the  cross.  In  many  churches  the 
devotion  of  The  Three  Hours  Agony  is  observed. 
During  the  services  a  short  sermon  is  preached  on  each 
of  the  seven  words  of  our  Lord  on  the  cross.  "* 


^oljj  Satttrirag* 


Copyright  i8qi,  by  the  Cathedral  Library  Association. 

To  understand  the  services  of  Holy  Saturday  it  is 
necessary  to  recall  the  fact  that  for  nearly  a  thousand 
years  the  discipline  of  the  Latin  Church  forbade  the 
offering  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  on  Holy  Saturday 
as  well  as  on  Good  Friday,  in  remembrance  of  the  time 
when  the  body  of  Our  Lord  lay  lifeless  in  the  tomb 
The  offices  which  are  celebrated  on  Holy  Saturday 
morning  were  then  performed  during  the  night  preced- 
ing Easter  Sunday.  With  the  relaxations  in  fasting 
came  the  anticipation  of  these  offices,  and  about  the 
nth  century  the  Mass  was  said  on  Holy  Saturday  in- 
stead of  during  the  night.  The  object  of  the  whole 
services  on  Holy  Saturday  is  the  baptism  of  the  Cate- 
chumens, and  all  the  ceremonies  converge  towards  this 
centre. 

The  office  comprises,  first,  the  blessing  of  the  New 
Fire  and  the  incense  ;  second,  the  blessing  of  the 
Paschal  candle ;  third,  the  prophecies;  fourth,  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Font;  filth,  the  Litanies;  sixth,  the  Mass  ter- 
minating with  the  Vespers. 

The  Blessing  of  the  New  Fire  and  Incense. 

The  lights  having  been  all  extinguished  in  the  cere- 
monies at  the  preceding  day,  it  is  necessary  .to  procure 
the  means  of  again  illuminating  the  desolate  temple. 
Various  means  are  adopted  to  this  end.  >  In  some 
Churches  the  white  candle  of  the  Tenebrae  was  kept 
for  the  purpose  of  renewing  the  other  lights  ;  in  others 
three  large  lamps  were  concealed,emblematic  of  the  three 


HOLY  SATURDAY. 


29 


days  of  the  entombment,  and  other  lamps  were  renewed 
from  these  as  a  symbol  of  the  Resurrection.  In  other 
Churches  light  was  produced  by  means  of  a  burning- 
glass  from  the  sun,  as  signifying  the  Orient  on  high ; 
or  were  struck  from  a  flint,  typifying  the  rock,  which  is 
Christ.  (I.  Cor.  X,  4.) 

In  Florence  the  fire  is  struck  from  flints  brought  from 
the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem  in  the  time  of  the 
Crusades.  In  some  Churches  the  New  Fire  was  blessed 
on  each  of  the  three  days,  and  the  Roman  Church  was 
one  of  the  last  to  adopt  the  ceremony  of  a  special  bless- 
ing for  Saturday.  Five  grains  of  incense  are  also 
blessed  for  the  purpose  of  being  put  into  the  Paschal 
Candle.  The  New  Fire  represents  Christ  the  Light  of 
the  World,  and  the  spark  struck 'from  the  flint  repre- 
sents Our  Lord  rising  from  the  Sepulchre  through  the 
stone  that  had  been  rolled  against  it .  The  putting  out 
of  all  the  lights  in  the  Church  symbolizes  the  abroga- 
tion of  the  old  law,  and  the  new  fire  represents  the 
preaching  of  the  New,  whereby  the  Light  of  the  World 
fulfilled  all  the  figures  of  ancient  prophecy.  The  five 
grains  of  incense  represent  the  perfumes  prepared  by 
Magdalen  and  her  holy  companions  for  the  embalming 
of  the  body  of  Jesus.  The  prayer  said  by  the  celebrant 
when  blessing  the  incense  shows  a  real  connection 
between  it  and  the  light,  and  teaches  us  the  power 
these  several  sacred  objects  have  against  the  spirits  of 
evil.  The  celebrants  and  attendants  go  in  procession 
from  the  Sacristy  to  the  vestibule  of  the  Church, 
where  the  fire  and  incense  are  to  be  blessed  as  the  holy 
women  and  apostles  seeking  the  sepulchre  go  forth 
frorri  the  city.  The  prayers  in  the  blessings  contain 
beautiful  allusions.  After  the  blessing  some  of  the  fire 
is  put  into  the  thurible,  when  the  celebrant  incenses 
the  fire  and  the  five  grains  of  incense,  which  have 
first  been  sprinkled  with  holy  water.  A  candle  is 
lighted  from  the  blessed  fire  that  the  new  light  may  be 
brought  into  the  Church.     The   ministers  have  been 


3° 


HOLY  SATURDAY. 


vested  in  purple,  but  now  the  Deacon  puts  on  a  white 
dalmatic,  and  takes  into  his  hand  a  triple  branched 
candle  resting  on  a  rod.  The  rod  signifies  Our  Lord's 
passion,  while  the  three  branched  candle  signifies  the 
Blessed  Trinity.  The  procession  returns  to  the  Church, 
and  the  Deacon  lights  at  the  entrance  one  of  the 
candles ;  then  kneeling,  as  do  also  the  clergy  and 
people,  he  sings  "Lumin  Christi"  The  Light  of  Christ, 
and  all  answer  Deo  Gratias,  Thanks  be  to  God.  This 
represents  the  revelation  made  to  us  by  Jesus  of  the 
Divinity  of  the  Father.  Midway  up  the  Church  the 
deacon  lights  a  second  candle  and  the  same  ceremonies 
are  observed.  This  second  lighting  signifies  the  re- 
ception of  the  knowledge  of  the  Divinity  of  the  Son. 
At  the  Altar  steps  the  third  candle  is  lighted  and  the  ♦ 
same  ceremonies  observed  signifying  the  revelation  of 
the  Divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  first  use  of  the  new  fire  then  is  to  proclaim  the 
Holy  Trinity.  It  is  next  to  publish  the  glory  of  the 
Incarnate  Word  by  lighting  its  glorious  symbol. 

II.— The  Paschal  Candle. 

The  blessing  of  the  Paschal  Candle  is  the  principal 
feature  of  this  ceremonial.  The  Deacon  after  begg- 
ing the  blessing  of  the  celebrant  proceeds  to  the 
Gospel  side  of  the  Altar,  and  from  the  book  of  the 
Gospels  sings  the  beautiful  prayer  in  which  the  bless- 
ing takes  place,  a  Chant  attributed  with  some  degree 
of  probability  to  the  great  Saint  Augustin.  This 
Exultet  beautifully  joins  the  two-fold  object  of  the 
ceremony,  for  while  it  prays  that  this  candle  may  con- 
tinue burning  through  the  night  to  dispel  its  darkness, 
it  speaks  of  it  as  a  symbol  of  the  Fiery  Pillar,  which 
led  the  Israelites  from  Egypt,  and  of  Christ,  ever  true 
and  never  failing  Light.  The  fourth  Council  of 
Toledo  says,  that  this  ceremony  is  a  symbol  of  the 
re-animation  of  the  body  of  Jesus,  and  five  holes 
made  in  the  candle  in  the  figure  of  a  Cross,  represent 
the  five  principal  wounds  inflicted  on  our  Victim, 


HOLY  SATURDAY. 


31 


The  Deacon  is  vested  in  white  as  the  angel  announc- 
ing the  Resurrection,  while  the  others  still  clad  in 
purple,  show  the  grief  and  dread  of  the  Apostles  and 
Disciples.  St.  Augustin  says,  "  That  as  by  women  the 
Resurrection  was  made  known,  thus  it  is  a  lower 
minister  of  the  Church  announces  the  fact  to  the 
superior  orders  of  the  clergy  in  the  blessing  of  this 
candle,  and  as  it  was  not  the  Apostles  but  the  disciples 
that  embalmed  the  body,  so  this  Deacon  places  the 
five  grains  of  incense  as  an  embalming  in  the  holes 
which  represent  the  wounds." 

During  the  canticle  the  candle  is  lighted  from  the 
triple  candle,  signifying  the  instant  of  Our  Lord's 
Resurrection  when  the  divine  power  restored  His 
body  to  life.  This  Paschal  Candle  remains  lighted 
at  the  principal  services  until  Ascension  Day,  show- 
ing how  Christ  remained  with  His  apostles  and  dis- 
ciples. 

III,  — The  Prophecies. 

The  Deacon  having  laid  aside  his  white  dalmatic 
vests  in  purple  and  returns  to  the  celebrant.  Then 
the  prophecies,  twelve  in  number,  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, are  read.  This  was  the  final  preparation  of  the 
catechumens,  and  by  prayers  after  each  prophecy  the 
Church  impresses  the  lessons  expressed  in  the  preced- 
ing prophecy.    Then  follows 

IV.  —  The  Blessing  of  the  Font, 

The  procession  moves  to  the  Baptistery,  aco- 
lytes carrying  the  Paschal  Candle  while  two  others 
carry  the  Holy  Chrism  and  the  oil  of  the  catechu- 
mens. With  many  solemn  prayers  the  water  which  is 
to  be  the  instrument  of  the  divine  work  of  regenera- 
tion is  blessed.  The  celebrant  divides  it  in  the  form 
of  a  cross  to  signify  that  it  is  by  the  cross  that  it 
receives  the  power  of  regenerating  the  souls  of  men. 
Then  he  places  his  hand  upon  it  as  the  mere  contact 
of  the  consecrated  hand  of  Pontiff  or  Priest,  pro* 
duces  a  salutary  effect  as  often  as  they  act  in  virtue  of 


J2 


HOLY  SATURDAY. 


the  priesthood  of  Christ  dwelling  within  them.  He 
blesses  it  then  with  a  triple  blessing,  so  that  the  bene- 
diction of  tliL*  Living,  The  True  and  the  Holy  God 
may  descend  upon  it.  Next  he  alludes  to  the  four 
rivers  watering  the  earthly  paradise,  and  again  divid- 
ing the  water  he  sprinkles  it  towards  the  North,  South, 
East  and  West,  since  the  whole  world  receives  the 
preaching  of  the  baptism  of  Christ.  Then  he  in- 
vokes the  life-giving  action  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  express 
which  the  celebrant  thrice  breathes  in  the  form  of  a 
cress  over  the  water.  ^Taking  the  Paschal  Candle  he 
dips  the  lower  end  of  it  into  the  font,  thereby  signify- 
ing the  mystery  of  Christ's  baptism  in  the  Jordan, 
which  sanctified  the  element  of  water.  Then  he 
breathes  again  upon  the  water  in  the  form  of  the 
Greek  letter  upsilon,  the  initial  of  the  Greek  word  for 
spirit.  The  people  are  then  sprinkled  with  the  blessed 
water,  after  which  to  signify  the  superabundant  grace 
of  baptism,  he  pours  in  first  the  oil  of  catechumens; 
then  the  oil  of  chrism,  and  finally  both  together,  mix- 
ing the  holy  oils  with  the  water  that  thus  every  portion 
of  it  may  come  into  contact  with  this  additional 
source  of  sanctification. 
V.  —  The  Litanies, 

The  procession  again  repairs  to  the  Sanctuary, 
where  the  ministers  having  laid  aside  their  outer  vest- 
ments, lie  prostrate  at  the  foot  of  the  Altar  while  the 
choir  chants  the  Litanies  praying  for  the  neophytes 
who  are  this  day  added  to  the  Church  throughout  the 
world.  As  the  solemn  Litany  is  drawing  to  a  close, 
the  ministers  rise,  proceed  to  the  Sacristy,  there  put 
on  the  richest  vestments  symbolic  of  joy.  As  the 
choir  has  begun  the  closing  invocation  Kyrie  Eleison, 
the  procession  comes  from  the  Sacristy  with  all 
possible  pomp  and  begins 


HOLY    SATURDAY.  33 

VI.—  The  Mass. 
During  the  Litanies  the  candles  upon  the  Altar  have 
been  lighted  and  the  Altar  ornamented.  In  the  Mass 
there  is  no  Introit,  because  all  have  been  for  a  long 
time  present.  The  Mass  proceeds  as  usual  with  the 
exception  of  the  organ  which  is  not  played  until  the 
celebrant  intones  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis.  Then  organ 
and  bells  peal  forth  the  joyous  tidings  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion. The  purple  Altar  veil  is  removed,  the  statues 
and  pictures  areun  covered.  After  the  Epistle,  a  sub- 
deacon  goes  to  the  throne,  and  addressing  the  Bishop, 
says,  "Holy  Father,  I  announce  to  you  great  joy,  that 
is"4 Alleluia?  when  the  celebrant  repeats  thrice  the  jov- 
fut  %i>  Alleluia'  each  time  with  an  increase  of  gladness; 
all  grief  and  sorrow  is  at  an  end,  the  tract  bids  us 
praise  the  Lord.  The  Deacon  sings  a  gospel  con- 
taining the  first  announcement  of  the  Resurrection, 
but  the  Creed  is  omitted  since  the  Church  would 
have  us  bear  in  mind  that  the  apostles  who  were  to 
preach  to  the  world  the  mystery  of  the  Resurrection 
had  not  yet  honored  it  by  their  faith.  There  is  no 
Offertory  since  on  account  of  the  lengthof  the  services 
the  usual  offerings  by  the  people  of  bread  and  wine  for 
the  sacrifice  was  omitted  and  consequently  there  was 
no  need  of  a  chant  during  that  service.  The  kiss  of 
peace  is  also  omitted  in  this  Mass  because  it  was  not 
until  the  evening  of  the  day  of  His  Resurrection  that 
Jesus  spoke  these  words  to  the  disciples,  and  the  church 
reserves  them  with  the  Agnus  Dei  for  Easter.  After 
the  Communion,  the  office  of  Vespers  is  immediately 
begun,  and  consists  of  only  one  Psalm,  followed  by 
the  magnificat.  The  Deacon  turning  to  the  people  to 
dismiss  them,  adds  a  double  Alleluia  to  the  usual 
formula,  to  signify  the  joy  of  the  Church  at  the 
Resurrection.  The  Mass  concludes  with  the  blessing 
of  the  celebrant  and  the  Gospel  of  St.  John. 


